Monday, October 7, 2013

Beach Camping in the Land of the Jellyfish

So over the Chuseok holiday, Anthony, Isaac, Rich, and I decided to take a beach getaway. We grabbed a small tent, camping stove, grub, beers, and set up a rental car. Oh, right. We also picked a destination: Daejin Beach, just north of Yeongdeok, Snow Crab capital of Korea! Everything was going swimmingly until I showed up at AVIS to pick up the car. The building was locked up tighter than <insert cliche here>. Not to be dismayed so easily, I walked over to Hertz/Kumho car rentals. Unfortunately, they were all out of cars to rent, what with it being Chuseok and all. So, no car, no beach. 

After some quick consultation, we decided to make the best of things and head down to the Sincehon, and set up camp along the riverbank between the Daebong-gyo and the Huimang-gyo (gyo means bridge in Korean). 
Our camping spot.
We spread out our tarp, opting to keep our tent out of sight until later. There aren't exactly enforced laws about camping in city parks, but we figured it'd be better to err on the safe side. We just sat around, relaxing, and taking in the sights of the people walking by through the river park. It was quite relaxing! Around four or five we set up the stove and our grillmaster, Anthony, got to grilling some samgyeopsal that Issac had marinated in preparation. With some lettuce, garlic, and onions, it made a damn fine meal.
One of the foot crossings of the Sincheon.

Later, we were joined by Matt and his dog Yoda, and eventually by Michael and So Young. We found out that pizza places don't deliver to the riverside, but they would meet us at the closest apartment complex. After pizza and several convenience store runs, Matt, Yoda, Michael, and So Young headed off home. Isaac, Rich, Anthony, and I stayed out for several hours, until the question came up: should we bother staying out that night? Much like some kids who had set up a tent in the backyard only to realize that it's cold and the ground is hard, we decided to just take the 10 minute trip back to our apartments. 
So, we didn't take our planned trip, but we still had some riverside fun. 

During the day, I got word from some Daegu Theater people. They had been planning a trip to the same beach as we were! And they weren't leaving until Friday! And they had some seats left! So, I decided to give Daejin one more try, and the next morning saw me loading into The Slam Van with some other theater nerds on our way to the East Sea.

The Slam Van. Yes, the Facebook page actually exists. Go "Like" it. Oh, hey, I just noticed my reflection in the window. Cool!


 On the way up to Daejin, we decided to stop off at the infamous Yeongdeok Ghost House. It was quite spooky, and that was during the day! The house itself was located up a short isolated hill just off the coastal road.

A knife I found in the front yard of the house.

 Here's the house itself. A nice little fixer-upper with the ruins of a shed just to the right. Charming!




David, expressing a healthy respect for ghosts, opted to wait in the van.

Translation: Haunted. House of Ghosts.

Translation: Ding Dong

The toilet paper was blowing in the breeze, except for the fact that there was no noticeable breeze...





I snapped this picture of what appears to be Korea's largest laziest sandcastle on the way to the basement.

The basement was, thankfully, blocked off by debris. Oh no, such a shame that we couldn't explore it.

Up on the second floor patio you could see David waiting in the car, still being respectful and whatnot.



A view of the shore from the second floor patio.





 Luckily, Tammy's dog Doshi came along with us. Knowing how dogs can totally sense evil, I decided that I wouldn't have to freak out until he started freaking out. Which he did. Just by the basement. Boy started pawing the ground like a madman, er, maddog. Did I mention how upset I was that we couldn't get into the basement?
Our valiant and oh so adorable evil detector.




 Well, with all that ghost-y business behind us, we took to the road again and continued our trip north to Daejin Beach. When we arrived, we noticed that the beach was rather empty. Unlike the more urban Haeundae and Gwangan beaches of Busan and Boryeong Beach of Mudfest fame, Daejin Beach had no sprawling roads of stores and restaurants alongside it. It was just a bathroom/changing room with two shops that looked closed down for the season.
 After a quick survey, we all threw on our suits and headed into the water. David and I got out first and the water was PERFECT. Once you got underwater once, the water felt great, had no waves, and was clear enough to see right down to the bottom. We got about 100 yards out or so and were still at about chest depth. Like I said, perfect.
 At first, anyway. Soon after settling in, I noticed some small stinging pinpricks on my arms and legs. I looked over at David and noticed a similar look of discomfort. Nothing painful, really. Just more like small annoyances. 
"You feeling that?", I asked. 
"Yes", he replied.
"Jellyfish?"
"Yup."
"No, wait", he said quickly. "It's not jellyfish. There's just a problem with our swim trunks or something. After all, if there were jellyfish, we should tell the girls. And then they probably wouldn't want to come in. Let's not spoil the beach for them."
So, like proper gentlemen, we didn't ruin anyone's chance to have fun in the sun and surf. By the time the girls got in, David and I had started to work on our 'Daniel Craig' coming out of the water, Casino Royale style.

I couldn't find a picture fromf the scene in question, so here's a shot of me trying to mimic it. I think it came out pretty good!
So the five of us are in the water, and David and I are just waiting for the girls to notice the same cough bathing suit issues we were having. Nothing. We exchanged confused looks. What were these bathing suit problems? Sexist? Antisemitic? Countless possibilities occurred to us, but our silent inquiry was interrupted by Nikki pointing out some purple welts that were forming on her arms, as well as the sharp stinging sensation that accompanied them. Well, with that, everyone else admitted to feeling the stings. We decided to get the hell out of the water and turn our attentions to camp.


The girls headed into town for a convenience store run while David and I set up camp. One hammock and three tents? No problem for an Eagle Scout and a ... hmm, and a David! After a very short amount of time, we had camp set up perfectly. Well, mostly perfect, but more on that later.

Have hammock, will travel!
David popping by to say hello.
Doshi standing guard over the tents.
David, the wonderful chef he is,
BUY NOW FROM BOUCHE DELIVERY
got dinner cooking. He makes a mean chili, and this one was no exception. Luckily for us, it was still hot from being cooked that morning, even after the 2-ish hour car ride up to Daejin. All it took was a quick reheat over the camping stove and we were in business. By the time the girls got back, we were ready to take a seat and eat. The chili was delicious!
BUY DAVID'S FOOD

The chef at work. Have you placed an order yet? Don't make me put in another hyperlink!
 With dinner mostly out of the way, we set about to watching the sun dip down towards the horizon.


 As darkness settled in, David and I gathered some driftwood for a small campfire. We knew it wouldn't be enough to burn for a long time, but it was enough to give up enough time to roast some marshmallows!


David and Amanda around the fire.

 The night wound on slowly and leisurely. Around 11 or so, we looked up to notice that the bridge by our campsite had been turned on. The thing was covered in moving neon!

The Goraebuldae-gyo


 As the night wore on, I grew slightly restless and decided to go for a walk. Close to our site was an empty lifeguard stand, so naturally, I climbed on up. The stand gave me some great views all around the beach and across to the town.





With everyone exhausted, we settled in for the night; me in my hammock, David in his tent, Nikki and Amanda in hers, and Tammy and Doshi debating between the spare tent or the van. I didn't worry about them much, as I was quickly drifting off to sleep.

Sunrise woke me up the next morning, and David and I popped our heads out of our respective quarters to say a quick good morning. That quick good morning quickly turned into an Uh-oh as David noticed something troubling: There was one fewer tent this morning than there was last night. We did a quick recount, and were confidently able to say that we were one tent short of what we should have had. David ventured over to the van, and fortunately, Tammy and Doshi were safe inside. So the only casualty was the tent. We took a quick walk, and sure enough we found it about 50 yards out being tossed around by the morning surf. With a heavy sigh, David handed me his hoodie and waded out to retrieve it. After emptying the water, we set it back up in the sun to dry as we went about the business of breaking camp. After a quick cleanup, we had things in order, packed in the van, and the tent had mostly dried. We all piled in to the van and set our compass south toward Daegu.

So, my Chuseok trip didn't go exactly according to plan, but I still made it to the beach. Oh, I also took an extensive bike ride, but we'll save that for next time!

No comments:

Post a Comment